Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 437 Jiangzuo’s Shame
"Wan Sheng! Wan Sheng! Wan Sheng!"

"Boom boom boom——"

On the fifth day of the lunar month in winter, as the mountains roared loudly, salutes outside Jiangdong Gate also sounded.

On the Yangtze River in the cold winter, five thousand horse-drawn boats were moored at the pier, and those who stepped off were the victorious troops heading to Japan for the Eastern Expedition.

"My minister, Ping Jianghou Chen Xuan, fortunately lived up to his command and marched eastward to quell the rebellion. He killed 26,427 Japanese rebels and captured 36,27 people. He defeated the capital and established Xiaoren as the leader of the country."

Chen Xuan, who was dressed in a gift uniform, bowed respectfully. On the pier and under the canopy, Zhu Gaoxu had a smile in his eyes and a slight smile on his lips, full of confidence.

"Admiring Chen Xuan, the Marquis of Jiang, and a copper mountain in Sumatra..."

A simple word, but it shocked the six officials behind him to kneel down: "Your Highness, you can't do that!"

Back then, Zhu Gaoxu rewarded the southwest generals with copper mountains in the Chunhe Hall. It was too late for the ministers to stop them, but now, in front of them, another copper mountain was rewarded. This is too...

"If you don't reward your merits, how can you convince the public?"

Here, they saw the majestic army of the Ming Dynasty and the golden chariot carrying the prince of the Ming Dynasty.

"The remaining military attachés, officers and soldiers who participated in the battle will all be rewarded five times their salary!"

Zhu Gaoxu still spoke confidently, and regardless of the advice of the officials, he raised his chin and signaled to Chen Xuan: "Get up."

From Hongwu to the present, in only eleven years, the status of a soldier has changed from a mud-legged soldier to a sergeant today.

"We don't get any rewards for our hard work..."

"Beep--"

Ignoring them, Zhu Gaoxu returned to the palace in a golden chariot, escorted by soldiers and horses.

"real man!"

With an order, thousands of returning Eastern Expedition soldiers disembarked and followed the team to Chang'anmen Square to celebrate.

Although they only saw the carriage, this scene still shocked Jianghuai and the others, especially the Eastern Expedition army that followed.

With a wave of his hand, millions of strings disappeared, which was heartbreaking to see.

Since school has not started yet, middle school students can also come in and out of the school, so they came here especially to observe.

Zhu Gaoxu's generosity caused the civil servants to talk in a low voice, but Zhu Gaoxu did not care. He just gestured to Chen Xuan, Zheng Jun, Yang Wen, Yang Xiong and others:

"I will receive the teaching order..."

"The flag is fluttering, the horse is fluttering, good man, good man, good man serves the country today!"

Jiang Huai has never forgotten who liberated his family from serfs to common people. Looking at the soldiers of the Eastern Expedition, he couldn't help but cheer.

Although Chen Xuan thought that the reward would be very generous, he did not expect that he would directly receive a copper mountain.

Being able to make Zhu Gaoxu say this shows that their actions have offended Zhu Gaoxu.

There was an endless stream of cheers and cheers, and the young people were full of praise for their way of promoting the country's prestige. Although the woman was shy, she stared at them intently.

The current Sixth Army Governor's Mansion has standards for recruiting soldiers. The height must not be less than five feet two (166cm), and the education must have graduated from elementary school. In addition, there are other physical standards.

"A banquet has been held at Chang'an Gate Tower and Chang'an Gate. Today, all of you will drink together to celebrate our army's triumphant victory."

In the past, local border troops could only enter the palace with the rank of commander, but when Zhu Gaoxu opened his mouth, no one dared to dissent.

When the golden chariot passed by Jiangdong Gate, the streets were lined with people who came to pay homage to the current prince.

The reason for this is mainly due to the current policy of recruiting soldiers.

"Destroying a small Japan would not be like this."

Seeing that Zhu Gaoxu was angry, the group of people stood up quickly. They did not have the courage of Wei Zheng, nor the iron bones of Haigangfeng.

Of course, the standards of some armies will be lowered according to the required types of troops. For example, the standards of Uzzandusi and Duogandusi, as well as soldiers from Yunnan Dusi, Jiugang Dusi, Jiaozhi Dusi and other places can be lowered as appropriate.

Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand, and countless military attachés and soldiers knelt down and worshiped: "Your Highness, a thousand years old! A thousand years old! A thousand years old..."

The military attachés and military attachés above the 100 households were given the opportunity to enter the palace city and go to Chang'an Gate Tower to celebrate.

"Your Highness is used to being lavish on military attachés. It's really..."

Needless to say, the quality of the soldiers in these places is that only they can adapt to the local environment, so standards such as culture and height can be lowered.

However, a temporary reduction does not mean that it can always be reduced. After all, the Ming Dynasty has moved a large number of Xifan people into the interior. In addition, it has also opened primary schools in Qamdo, Dege, and Xining to teach local Xifan people to read and read.

It's a pity that there is no such thing as a feast that lasts forever. As the team walked away, the people also left spontaneously, leaving only the loneliness after the hustle and bustle.

"My lord, thank you for your kindness!"

These various standards destined to be very difficult to earn a salary as a soldier in the Ming Dynasty. If a profession is scarce, it will be easy for others to praise it.

People in Xifan usually send their children to these three places, because sending their children to primary school can reduce their horse tax for one year.

As for the group of kneeling ministers, Zhu Gaoxu just glanced at them: "Putting down the chaos in Japan is crucial to the future trade between the imperial court and Dongzhou. It brings millions of money, food and taxes. Don't cause trouble in vain." !”

Although such a policy would cause many people to have children all year round to avoid paying taxes, it would put more pressure on them. In the end, in order to survive, they had no choice but to follow the imperial court's instructions and migrate to Sichuan and Longxi to settle.

It was against this background that Mudleg became a sergeant.

The word "shi" is enough to illustrate their status. After many years of literacy, the overall illiteracy rate of the Ming army has dropped from 97% in the first year of Yongle to 72% today, and continues to decline at a rate of 3% every year. .

The whistle sounded, and the soldiers of the Eastern Expedition, who were marching in an orderly manner, began to sing the "Military Song". The singing drowned out the cheers around them, and the soldiers happily walked to Chang'anmen Square.

Jiang Huai felt a sense of loss. After gathering his emotions, he walked out of the outer city with his classmates and headed back to school.

Soon, the soldiers of the Eastern Expedition arrived at Chang'anmen Square, which was also tidied up and many thick oil-paper umbrellas were erected to protect them from the sun.

As thousands of people took their seats, Zhu Gaoxu and others in the Chang'an Gate Tower also took their seats one after another.

The civil servants are on the left and the military attachés are on the right. There are more than 200 people in total, and dozens of tables are set up in the building.

On both sides of Chang'an City, the palace band of thousands of people was ready. When Zhu Gaoxu opened his mouth to serve the meal, thousands of eunuchs began to pass the dishes.

Various dishes such as four kinds of wine (dishes to go with wine), roasted mutton, steamed chicken, goose with pepper and vinegar, roasted pork, pork soup... were served one after another.

According to the requirements formulated by Zhu Gaoxu in the third year of Yongle, when hosting a banquet for the triumphant master, each table must use one goose, two chickens, three catties of mutton, three catties of pork, two measures of white japonica rice, nine catties of tea and snacks, and ninety pieces of sesame oil cakes. , ten pounds of various fruits.

In addition, there are five kilograms of royal wines such as lotus pistil, Hantanxiang, Qiulubai, bamboo leaf green, golden stem dew, Taixi white, etc. Regardless of the category, the total should be five kilograms.

For example, if there are ten people at a table with a small flag, the soldiers who have returned from the expedition are hungry and want to eat more meat and wine to relieve their suffering of loneliness, bitter cold and cold weather.

"This state banquet will probably cost a lot of money..."

"Keep your voice down..."

The civil servants murmured, but Zhu Gaoxu didn't bother to pay attention to them.

As the food was served, Zhu Gaoxu said: "Play music!"

When he opened his mouth, Yi Shiha in the palace quickly asked someone to pass it on, and not long after, the palace musicians on the city wall started playing and jumping up.

The victorious troops will naturally listen to music such as "The Elephant King's Journey" and "Victory Song".

An orchestra of more than a thousand people played Chinese music, which immediately heightened the atmosphere at the scene.

Zhu Gaoxu picked up his wine glass, put one hand on his waist, and toasted to the ministers with the other hand, with a hint of joy in his majestic tone.

"This counterinsurgency against Japan demonstrates the majesty of our country and allows the vassals from all over the world to see our determination to protect our vassals."

"Someone just said that my reward to Chen Xuan was too generous..."

After his words came out, some civil servants lowered their heads in embarrassment, while the military officers glanced unhappily.

"I want to say that as long as they have contributed to our Ming Dynasty, whether they are civil servants or military officers, they will be given the rewards they deserve."

"Mountains of gold and silver are not enough to express my love for you. I have already issued an order to build a high platform and a merit tower in Huyu of Shuntian Mansion, so that future generations can see the meritorious ministers who have lost their battles."

"For your meritorious ministers who have returned alive, I have also issued an order to have Hu Hui set up a "Shou'an Town National Monument" on Mount Fuji in Japan. The soldiers who participated in this battle will have their names on the monument and will forever guard Japan!"

Zhu Gaoxu's words made the military attachés extremely excited, but before their thoughts came to fruition, Zhu Gaoxu looked at Chen Xuan, Yang Wen and others and continued:
"Chen Xuan, Yang Wen, and Zheng Jun, the three of you have made countless contributions. I want to build a Yantai, cast a golden body, and paint a statue for you and other three people in Tianshou Mountain."

"In addition, I will build a temple and carve stone statues in your hometown, so that you three can enjoy the incense for thousands of years."

"Your Majesty!" The three of them went blank when they heard this. After reacting, they quickly knelt down and bowed: "Thank you, Your Highness, for your kindness!"

Zhu Gaoxu's move was a bit presumptuous, but everyone knew that Zhu Di had already decided to pass the throne to Zhu Gaoxu, so now he is actually half the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

He could give orders or issue orders on behalf of the emperor, and Zhu Di would not object anyway.

"Come on, let's play "Broken Formation Music" again, and it will become clear!"

After raising his glass and drinking deeply, Zhu Gaoxu began to walk down the golden platform and shuttle among the ministers.

From afternoon to night, gorgeous fireworks bloom in the sky, which is so beautiful.

When Zhu Di learned of this scene, he had just returned to Beijing.

He took a look and felt that it was good for Zhu Gaoxu to do this, so he couldn't help but said to Wang Yan beside him:

"This Yantai needs to be built, but it is better to build each one individually."

"I heard that Lao Er has a group of painters who are good at painting. You ask Lao Er to send these people to Qiu Fu, Zhu Neng, Zhang Yu, Shao Shi (Yao Guangxiao), Zheng Heng, Meng Shan... twenty-five of them... Carve portraits, carve stone statues, and build a platform in front of my mausoleum." After Zhu Di finished speaking, he was afraid that Wang Yan would miss them, so he did not forget to remind him: "By the way, you and Zheng He must also carve."

"Your servant accepts the order..." Wang Yan was so moved that his nose became sore. He didn't expect that he, a eunuch, could enter this Yantai.

"Has Jie Jin calmed down recently?"

Zhu Di rubbed his eyebrows, feeling that there were a lot of things going on, but he couldn't get interested.

"he……"

Wang Yan didn't know what to say, so he could only pull out a memorial from the desk, and this memorial was the memorial of Chen Ying, the censor of Zuodu, impeaching Xie Jin.

In the entire Ming Dynasty, if one were to find the people who hated Xie Jin the most, Chen Ying and Ji Gang would definitely be on the list.

Faced with Jie Jin, who is full of loopholes, how could they let him go?

[Jin came to Beijing to report something, and Fang and his colleagues reviewed the royal warriors’ journey to Guangxi and Guangdong to see the mountains and rivers. They were ridiculous and unbecoming of a minister! 】

A simple line of words made Zhu Di feel angry instantly.

As an emperor, he was running around for the Ming Dynasty, going to the bitter cold places in Mobei to sleep in the open air, crawling on ice and sleeping in the snow.

The reason why he sent Jie Jin to Guangxi was because he knew that his second son's next destination was Guangxi, and he wanted to let Xie Jin go to Guangxi to do some things and ease the relationship with his second son.

But Xie Jin was a good guy. He couldn't even manage the affairs of a Guangxi councilor and grain supervisor. He even took leave at will, using the pretext of alienating himself from Nanjing, but ended up traveling around.

"Is the evidence true?"

Zhu Di suppressed his temper and asked Wang Yan. Wang Yan could only take out a Tang newspaper from the table and presented it to Zhu Di with both hands.

【North Temple in Zhongcheng, Yangshuo County, is said to be the former residence of Cao Ye. Nian Shen Temple was abandoned and no one lived there, except for Shi Yanming who was studying there. Yangshuo River City is surrounded by stones, and the Tang stele is still resting on the cold current. On the wall of the Suwang Temple, the clear morning sun illuminates the painting building. 】

[Xiushui River comes from the ancient Yujiang River in the east, and the ancient vine city wall town Nampang. The mountains, clouds and bridges are in the shape of rainbows, and the river moon tower is empty with milk and swallows. On a sunny day, the orioles are in red cotton tents, and the spring breeze is smoky and the trees are green and green. Blowing the flute evokes the dance of dragons, and the golden duck burns incense and fills the jade vat. 】

[I have been to Tengzhou, and I love the mountains and rivers of Tengzhou, where I live in Shuiyueyan. I have been around for ten months, and there are many Tengzhou people who want to learn from it...]

"Bastard!"

Zhu Di was really angry and wanted to kill someone: "I cherish my talent, but that doesn't mean I don't dare to kill him!"

"If he, a Confucian scholar, dares to disobey me, does he really think that I dare not kill him?!"

He cursed loudly, and Wang Yan quickly knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, calm down your anger. Your Majesty, calm down your anger. It's not worth getting in trouble for such a person!"

"Call Ji Gang and ask him to bring Xie Jin to me in Beijing. I will not go back to Nanjing to celebrate the New Year this year."

"Don't he, Jie Jin, like to travel around? I think Beijing is a very nice city. Let him have fun in prison!"

Zhu Di walked away with a puff of his sleeves, and Wang Yan had no choice but to follow him.

When he entered the Palace of Qianqing to rest, Wang Yan did not rush to deliver the order, but waited for a full night. Seeing that Zhu Di had no intention of changing his mind, he issued an order to have the Criminal Division send a driving notice to Jinyiwei, and ordered General Ji Gang to Xie Jin, who had no courtesy as a minister, was escorted to Beijing.

Within a few days, Ji Gang received a decree from Beijing, the content of which made Ji Gang happy:

"Okay, okay! I have finally waited for this day."

"Don't worry, you still have to get the news out first, and also get the evidence out, so that the mouths of those Jiang Zuo people can be silenced."

In Ji Gang's house, as Ji Gang stood up, Chen Ying, who was sitting next to him, also quickly suggested.

"You can handle this matter. Anyway, as long as Jie Jin goes to prison, I will have a way to deal with those people in Jiangzuo."

Ji Gang's expression was sinister, and when Chen Ying heard this, her face gradually showed cruelty.

The next day, before Ji Gang took action, Jin Yiwei had already begun to spread news in the capital, publicizing what Xie Jin had done for more than a year.

During the fourteen months, I spent more than four months traveling and more than seven months working, of which more than three months were spent traveling around the mountains and rivers. The remaining three months were spent taking leave and then going to Beijing to report.

Four months, you know, it only took four months for Zheng He to arrive in Ceylon from Jiangnan.

For a time, Xie Jin's reputation began to be tarnished by his own actions. Some Jiangzuo officials did not dare to openly say what was good about Xie Jin, for fear of being thought that they were like Xie Jin, only talking and not doing anything.

On the 19th day of the winter lunar month, Jie Jin was taken away from Quanzhou Prefecture in Fujian Province by people sent by Ji Gang. When they found him, he was still writing poems at Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou Prefecture. By the time he realized what he was doing, he had been put into a carriage and taken away to Beijing.

Zhu Gaoxu was not surprised at all when he learned the news. Although the old man had a good temper, it did not mean that he was made of dough.

Jie Jin slapped him in the face again and again and didn't give him any color. How could the old man become the emperor?
"Your Highness, would you like to send Jie Jin..."

In the Chunhe Hall, Yishiha carefully made a gesture on his neck, but Zhu Gaoxu said:
"Do you think it's better to deal with such a person by letting him die directly, or by letting him live a life worse than death?"

"Your Highness, you don't want to kill him?" Yi Shiha was a little surprised. After all, Xie Jin had repeatedly opposed His Highness.

"I want to kill him, but I want him to live worse than death." Zhu Gaoxu said with a chuckle:
"Doesn't he look down on military attachés? If that's the case, then I'll wait until his charges are proven and banish him to the army."

Yishiha also had a smile on his face when he heard this: "If this guy knew that his descendants would have to be Jiaozhi military households for the rest of their lives, I'm afraid they would be so angry that they would commit suicide."

"Ignore him, he's just a clown." Zhu Gaoxu sorted out the memorial in his hand, then took out a copy and said:

"The leader of Annan, Chen Yao, died a few days ago. His death was just right. Now the court can let go of Li Li."

Chen Yao, the leader of the Annan Kingdom, was the last descendant of the Chen family supported by Fu Rang. Because he was a little foolish, he was supported by Fu Rang to stabilize the people of Annan.

Now in the past few years, the Ming Dynasty has already boiled frogs in warm water, moved more than 500,000 people, and more than 106,000 military households into Annan, and completely controlled both sides of the Red River.

Without the great plains of the Red River Delta, the scale of the rebellion within Annan has become smaller and smaller in recent years. Most Annan people have accepted the identity of the people of the Ming Dynasty. Only a few are still stubborn. Among them, the soldiers and horses under Li Li The most majestic.

Li Li hid in Changshan and formed an alliance with the Changshan barbarians. He often harassed the Ming army, with nearly 10,000 troops.

With the products of Changshan, it is definitely not possible to support tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, so there must be people in Annan who support him. It doesn't take much thinking to know that it is the squires who have risen from the mainland.

Even if the Ming Dynasty gave them the opportunity, they would not thank the Ming Dynasty. They would only find ways to let Li Li re-establish an Annanite country.

"My father originally planned to call Zhang Fu, Zhang Chun and Xu Sheng to participate in the Northern Expedition. Unfortunately, he was entangled by Li Li and could not go north in time."

"Since Li Li doesn't want them to leave, after pacifying the chieftains in Guangxi, he will first deal with the Changshan barbarians and then deal with the chieftains in Yunnan."

Zhu Gaoxu used a little force with his fingers, and the brush worth thousands of gold in his hand was easily broken. It was obvious that he was very unhappy about Li Li's harassment of Jiaozhi.

"How is the food mobilization in the southwest? Can we mobilize troops as expected on the first day of the twelfth lunar month?"

Due to the muggy weather, it is best to launch troops in Guangxi during the colder months of the twelfth lunar month and the first lunar month.

"The food and fodder have been raised, but Fu Rang is going to take charge of Jiaozhi City himself, and he will send Xu Sheng to take charge of Qinghua."

"As for the matter in Guangxi, he plans to send Zhang Fu and Zhang Chun north to participate."

After Yishiha explained, Zhu Gaoxu also nodded and said: "Since Chen Yao is dead, there is no need to pretend anymore. There are six departments of teachings and three divisions of Jiaozhi..."

After saying this, Zhu Gaoxu thought of Wang Ji who was sent to Shanxi by him, and couldn't help but ask: "How is Wang Ji doing in Shanxi?"

"We often impeach officials, many of whom are from us..." Yi Shiha hesitated to speak, but Zhu Gaoxu said coldly:
"We don't have any of our people. If they are virtuous, we will use them, and if they are unworthy, we will depose them."

"Go to Sun Cheng and ask him to make it clear to the people below that no matter who comes from the New Deal or from Bohai, as long as he touches the red line of the imperial court, no matter who he is, Gu will not be prepared to forgive."

"If you are upright, you are not afraid of a crooked shadow. If they all act openly and aboveboard, then why do they need to be afraid of Wang Ji?"

After the words fell, Zhu Gaoxu also spoke: "Promote Wang Ji to be the chief envoy to the left of Jiaozhi, and temporarily take over the post of chief envoy to the right."

Zhu Gaoxu handed over the positions of chief envoy to the left and right of Jiaozhi to Wang Ji. Obviously, he was ready to let Wang Ji do a good job in Jiaozhi.

With Wang Ji's cooperation, Fu Rang was able to encircle and suppress Li Li and Changshan Man.

"I will teach you this slave..."

Yi Shiha bowed in response, and upon seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu also leaned on the chair.

Yi Shiha put down the memorial in his hand and rubbed some of the places where Zhu Gaoxu often felt sore. After a while, Zhu Gaoxu opened his eyes: "What is the attitude of the vassals after they get the "Zong Regulations"."

"My behavior has calmed down a lot."

Yishi smiled and told the result, but Zhu Gaoxu hummed: "What they are afraid of is not the "Zong Rules", but they are afraid of me."

"The people below, please tell me that all the chief ministers of the princes must be our people."

"What they have to do is to supervise the vassals for the court. Also, have there been any changes in my eldest brother and my third brother's side recently?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked sideways, because he remembered that Zhu Zhanji seemed to have begun to take over the troops of the Han Dynasty.

"There is no big movement. Whether it is His Highness the King of Han or His Highness the King of Zhao, apart from daily outings, other times they just watch singing and dancing in the mansion. There is nothing inappropriate."

"No, that's fine."

Exhaling a breath, Zhu Gaoxu stood up and prepared to go to the front bedroom, where he would rest at Guo Yan's place later.

Yi Shiha followed, and Zhu Gaoxu did not forget to explain: "Zheng He and the others have calculated the time and should be able to reach Kunlun Cape in another month. I wonder if they can send back good news."

"The Atlantic and Little West are dangerous, and homing pigeons have suffered heavy losses. They need more breeding."

"This slave takes orders..."

In the sounds of explanations and responses, the figures of the master and the servant gradually disappeared into the Chunhe Hall.

As for Xie Jin, his unlucky days have just begun...

(End of this chapter)